Challenges Facing Chicago - Paper Example

Cities are important in our societies as they enable provision of environments for both social and economic development. They serve an important function in the democracy of nations as they are principal points for activities such as social movements and issues regarding civil rights. However, cities often face a number of challenges in the course of their development as we are going to find out through analysis on the city of Chicago. Chicago is a vibrant city in the United States which is home to over 2.7 million residents. Just like other cities in the world, Chicago has had its fair share of challenges and problems as seen in the issues raised by Thomas Dyja in his book The Third Coast, Trevor Noahs investigation on culture and crime in Chicago at The Daily Show and Jerry Useems The Curse of the Loyal Sports Fan. These sources form a basis for the study on Chicago, giving a detailed analysis of the history, culture, challenges and possible solutions to these challenges that the city of Chicago has been subjected to.

According to Trevor Noah on the Daily Show, the largest challenge facing the city of Chicago undoubtedly is a crime. This is coupled with increased instances of violence as often reported and observed in the media. The occurrence of crime in the city has continuously been under tracks dating from the advent of the 20th century. According to statistics, the overall rate of crime in the city is higher than the countrys average. Causes for this increased violence have been unclear as researchers hardly come up with congruent suggestions. However, one point to note regarding Chicago is the prevalence of a high number of guns and gang activities. It has been regarded as the most gang-prone area in the country. The menace of gang culture in Chicago has been the cause of increased homicide and violence. Most of the crimes in the city are unresolved as a result of lack of cooperation between the locals and the police which is due to an inescapable no snitch code that runs in the streets. In the Show, Trevor also points out a blaming finger on the politicians. Most politicians have often been quick to accuse the city of Chicago over increasing rates of crime but actually, never do anything on the ground to help curb the situation. He further talks about the necessity of the government to focus on disarming and reaching out to the residents as opposed to investing in empowering the police force as it would not do much in dealing with the crime and violence.

In Dyjas book, The Third Coast, he explains in detail the history of Chicago dating back from events that took place before and after the World War 2. Dyja talks about the vibrant city and the various achievements that it boasted of in the initial stages of its inception. He talks about the architecture, employment, notable personalities and importantly also delves into raising issues which largely contributed to the problems that Chicago faces up to date. All these achievements thrived despite the very corrupt political situation in Chicago. In the book, he puts blame on the 1955 election which he argues was the beginning of Chicagos tribulations. It was at that point that the issues of cultural disintegration and segregation rose up exponentially as the elected mayor, Richard Daley was in support of the vices. Another problem that saw a shift from the previous ways of Chicago culture was the commercialization of sex which came up through the founding of Playboy in 1953. Not only did it commercialize sex but also typified a society whereby only the affluent were regarded. Dyja goes on to attack the University of Chicago over its contribution in attacking and defending ideas rather than analyzing them. Dyja gives a vivid account of the relevance of actions by various stakeholders in the history of Chicago and how they have impacted the culture of the city over the years.

The magazine article, The Curse of the Loyal Sports Fan gives an overwhelming finding with regard to the Chicago Cubs. In efforts to understand the poor and continued shoddy performance by the team over the years, various points of concern are brought up which in general explain yet another challenge that the city of Chicago apart from the common violence and crime. The Chicago Cubs have never won any World Series since 1908. It begins with the role of the fans and spectators. From the article, we find out the research as conducted by Tobias Moskowitz, an economist at the University of Chicago which claims that the poor performance is as a result of fan loyalty to the team. Baseball teams have been known to collect a lot of revenue from ticket sales rather than from victory in the games.

From these three sources, it is quite evident that the city of Chicago indeed faces major challenges. This can be well seen from the accounts shown and raised by Trevor Noah in the show. These shortcomings are also depicted in the article which shows the culture of the Chicagoan residents which needs to undergo a change in order for them achieve success. In addition, Dyjas historical representation of the citys success and excellent past makes it clear that Chicago was indeed a great city and the residents together with the relevant authorities should work together so as to ensure that Chicagos glorious past is restored. Theres need to control and curb the problems that the city of Chicago is facing. In as much as the possible solutions might be hard and take time to realize, it is of the essence to come up with strategies from all the stakeholders.

For the necessity of reducing violence in the city, a crackdown should be held on the criminals. This should be coupled with increased restoration of police training and morale. Further, the government should consider providing alternative jobs which will offer opportunities to the Chicagoan youth engaging themselves in crime. In addition to reinforcements on the police system, the police should aim at identifying the gangs and tracking their activities as this would put the authorities in a better position in dealing with these gangs. Repeat gun offenders also ought to be put on track as studies have shown most of them are likely in the capacity of committing crimes once they are released. The factual reality that crime is a complex challenge in Chicago makes it require solutions that are comprehensive. Ignoring the situation and pondering into hopelessness over the deeply entrenched problems would only result in desperation which consequently would to the perpetuation of more crime.

References:

Trevor Noah, The Daily Show Takes Chicago: Culture, Crime, and Obamas Hometown

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/hhp1wy/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-the-daily-show-takes-chicago--culture-and-crime-in-obama-s-hometownThomas Dyja, Preface to The Third Coast

Jerry Useem, The Curse

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/07/the-curse-of-the-loyal-sports-fan/485594/of the Loyal Sports Fan